Overachievers, this is for you.

My life resume would tell you that I am as goal-driven and self-motivated as they come, so I understand.

In second grade, I decided I would be valedictorian of my high school graduating class. YES, I set a decade-long goal as an eight-year-old. And guess what? Ten years later, I gave the valedictorian speech at graduation.

Semi-related, I was also that kid who did homework on Friday nights. No waiting till 7pm on Sunday, or even noon on Saturday. Nope. I knew I wouldn’t enjoy the weekend until my homework was completed.

And it wasn’t even about procrastinating till the last minute. If I wasn’t ahead, I felt behind. If an assignment was due, even several weeks out, I struggled to enjoy life with that deadline looming over me.

Truthfully, adult me isn’t much different. I approach my career the way I approached school, and aim to complete all tasks and projects ahead of schedule whenever possible—not only to give other team members time to review, but to “enjoy the weekend” if you will. For me, it’s a whole lot easier to relax when I am not taunted by unfinished work. Again, I’m not talking about missed deadlines. It’s just that if I’m not ahead, I feel behind.

This is true in my personal life as well. Whether I am writing new posts for this blog or editing episodes for my podcast, I admit, I feel unnecessary pressure to complete everything on my to-do list before I can breathe—even when I am the only one who cares about the timeline.

Over the years, God has lovingly revealed that this need to be ahead and clean-slate my to-do list before I relax is not the productive flex I think it is. As I write this today, I am very much a work in progress. If you can relate, we’re in this together.

It’s Okay to Rest Without Earning It

As overachievers, we feel like we need to earn a break, right?

OR we need someone to give us permission to take a break. Someone to assure us that we’re not slacking off and that nothing bad will happen if our to-do lists go untouched for an hour, a day, a weekend, or even a week!

But here’s the thing. God already has.

We have His permission to let go of striving and assurance through His promises that we can’t earn peace and rest no matter how hard we work for it.

What the Bible Says about Striving

Let’s start with Psalm 127:2 (ERV). This one hit me hard.

It is a waste of time to get up early and stay up late, trying to make a living.
The Lord provides for those he loves, even while they are sleeping.

I mean. WOW. God literally tells us it’s pointless to work every waking hour of the day to accomplish all the things we think will get us ahead. And the second part of the verse tells us why:

God promises to provide for us and He does so without needing our help. This might be implied, but I also see this statement as a reminder to trust God. Striving in our own strength is definitely NOT an act of trust.

Okay, so what about those to-do lists? Are we supposed to just ditch them, do nothing, and wait for God to do everything?

Not exactly.

Proverbs 16:9 (ERV) tells us that: People can plan what they want to do, but it is the Lord who guides their steps.

We can plan. We can create our lists, set our goals, draft that 10-year plan (just like eight-year-old me with my valedictorian dreams). But—and there is a but—we must then let God lead us step-by-step through every list, goal, and plan. And that requires a whole lot of letting go.

READ MORE about what it looks like to let go and let God.

I already told you I’m a work in progress, right?

Here’s what God is teaching me about working hard to get ahead vs. trusting His timing and allowing myself to rest when needed.

Bible Verses About Resting in God

The first verse that comes to mind is Matthew 11:28 (NLT): Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

It’s a command and a promise all in one. God sees us and knows we will feel weighed down with all the stress and demands of this world—either placed on us by other people or our own selves.

And then there’s Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT): ⁸ God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. ⁹ Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

I know these two verses don’t mention rest, but they do mention “good things we have done.” When we work hard to achieve—or overachieve—it’s easy to believe the lie that we are earning something, whether that something is permission to relax or the world’s version of success or a false version of God’s love.

But God’s Word is clear that we can’t earn it, and when we try, guess what? Trying only leads to burnout—yet another reason why we need rest.

And we can’t talk about rest without diving into Psalm 23. I grew up hearing this chapter of the Bible, and I’ll be honest. For a long time, I tuned out whenever it was read. Yeah, yeah. I know these verses. I could recite them on cue. But did I grasp what they meant? Absolutely not.

Let’s look at the first three verses of Psalm 23 now (in the ERV version).

¹The Lord is my shepherd.
    I will always have everything I need.
² He gives me green pastures to lie in.
    He leads me by calm pools of water.
³ He restores my strength.
    He leads me on right paths to show that he is good.

A few phrases stick out to me:

• “I will always have everything I need”
• “He gives me”
• “He leads me”
• “He restores my strength”

I don’t know about you, but when I’m feeling pressure to cross one more thing off my to-do list before I can sit down and truly relax, I’m not thinking about God. I’m not trusting Him or believing that He designed our bodies to need rest.

Even God Himself rested after creating the universe in six days!

Genesis 2:2-3 (ERV) tells us this:

² God finished the work he was doing, so on the seventh day he rested from his work. ³ God blessed the seventh day and made it a holy day. He made it special because on that day he rested from all the work he did while creating the world.

Should Christians Keep the Sabbath?

I sometimes forget that one of the 10 Commandments God gave to the Israelites involves taking a Sabbath day. Exodus 20:8-11 (NLT) gives the command:

⁸ Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹ You have six days each week for your ordinary work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. ¹¹ For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

Now, I know that we are no longer under the Law of the Old Testament, established before Jesus died and rose to pay the penalty for every sin—past, present, and future. And even the Apostle Paul even cautioned the Colossian church about putting religious rules above following Jesus in Colossians 2:16-17 (ERV):

¹⁶ So don’t let anyone make rules for you about eating and drinking or about Jewish customs (festivals, New Moon celebrations, or Sabbath days). ¹⁷ In the past these things were like a shadow that showed what was coming. But the new things that were coming are found in Christ.

But here’s what’s interesting. Jesus rested, too, even when he had a LOT of work to do. According to Luke 5:16 (ERV), Jesus would often go to some place where he could be alone and pray.

Yet, in Mark 2:23-28 (ERV), Jesus corrected some Pharisees who believed that not observing the Sabbath was a sin.

²³ On the Sabbath day, Jesus and his followers were walking through some grain fields. The followers picked some grain to eat. ²⁴ Some Pharisees said to Jesus, “Why are your followers doing this? It is against the law to pick grain on the Sabbath.”

²⁵ Jesus answered, “You have read what David did when he and the people with him were hungry and needed food. ²⁶ It was during the time of Abiathar the high priest. David went into God’s house and ate the bread that was offered to God. And the Law of Moses says that only priests can eat that bread. David also gave some of the bread to the people with him.”

²⁷ Then Jesus said to the Pharisees, “The Sabbath day was made to help people. People were not made to be ruled by the Sabbath. ²⁸ So the Son of Man is Lord of every day, even the Sabbath.”

Jesus is our ultimate model of rest. He experienced difficult work and draining days. But he also knew that to continue doing what God called him to do, he had to rest. It wasn’t a command as much as it was a need. And if it was a need for Jesus, just think how much greater a need it is for us.

What Keeps Me From Resting?

So, we know we need rest, but what prevents us from believing this truth?

For me, it’s things like fear, comparison, and anxiety.

I’m afraid of failing or falling behind. I compare myself to other people who seem to be doing more. And I tend to get anxious when I’m not achieving because it makes me feel less in control.

No matter what keeps you from resting, God is gracious and patient. He continues to point us to the truth and “leads [us] by calm pools of water,” as we read in Psalm 23. He doesn’t give up on us!

So, here’s what I ask myself when I notice that pressure to do more before I can fully relax and allow myself to rejuvenate.

• What does God want me to do today?
• What will happen if I don’t finish this today?
• Is my motive to glorify God or satisfy my own need to earn His favor (or someone else’s)?

These questions help me to shake that overachieving mindset, let go of striving, let God guide my steps, and REST in Him. Some days, I let go sooner than others.

Some days, it might be easier for you, too. It all goes back to trusting God and believing that He will meet us when and where we rest—any day of the week—to restore our strength, again, as Psalm 23 promises.

We need all the reminders we can get, right? And thankfully, the Bible is full of them. God knew we’d need them. Verses like Isaiah 40:31 (NET):

But those who wait for the Lord’s help find renewed strength; they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings, they run without growing weary, they walk without getting tired.

When we’re weary and tired, instead of striving to fight against our own human weakness, let’s seek God’s help. And let’s choose to be okay when His help looks like rest and time alone with our one true source of strength.

How to Rest in God

But what does this look like in the real world? Mary and Martha give us a practical, biblical example in Luke 10:38-42 (ERV):

³⁸ While Jesus and his followers were traveling, he went into a town, and a woman named Martha let him stay at her house. ³⁹ She had a sister named Mary. Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to him teach. ⁴⁰ But her sister Martha was busy doing all the work that had to be done. Martha went in and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” ⁴¹ But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are getting worried and upset about too many things. ⁴² Only one thing is important. Mary has made the right choice, and it will never be taken away from her.”

Mary made the “right choice.” She put Jesus first and knew the to-do list could wait. She also knew she didn’t need to impress Jesus through work. She only needed to focus on Him and be filled by Him to then carry on with her day.

Far too often than we’d like to admit, we Marthas would be more productive if we simply pulled up a chair and sat in the presence of the Lord. In fact, that might even be the “right choice” right now.

Getting ahead in human terms means nothing to God and leaves nothing to faith. There will always be another task, another deadline, another thing you could be doing.

God doesn’t scold us for resting with Him instead of working. There’s no wrong time to rest with God. But the key words here are “with God.” Weekends, vacations, binge-watching TV or scrolling our social media feeds may offer temporary rest, but lasting peace only comes through God—and we can’t earn it with checked boxes or high achievement. Nope.

We need time alone with God and the to-do list can wait.